Restrictions lifted for H1N1 swine flu vaccine

December 10, 2009

All Illinois residents will be eligible to be vaccinated for H1N1 swine flu beginning next week as the Illinois and Chicago public health departments remove restrictions that had limited access to the vaccine to those deemed at highest risk.

The change in policy comes as both the city and state health departments, which have overseen the vaccine distribution, say they have seen demand for it ease up in the special clinics held for those at-risk population groups. To speed the wider distribution, both agencies said they will soon release some of the vaccine allocations to retail pharmacies, like Walgreens and CVS, where pharmacies may charge a vaccination fee, usually between $12 and $22.

"Local health departments have been telling us that they have been seeing waning interest in the vaccine among those unvaccinated in at-risk populations as lower numbers of people show up for public clinics," said Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"We continue to receive increased allocations of the vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and we have a lot of the priority population vaccinated. We just wanted to make sure that we didn't have vaccine sitting on refrigerator shelves, not being used by anyone, so it is time to open it to the general public."

The state will lift its restrictions on who can receive the H1N1 vaccine beginning next Tuesday. The city is lifting its restrictions immediately, including allowing anybody to receive it on a first-come-first-served basis at its public clinics at seven city college campuses this Saturday and December 19.

"Up to now, we have asked Chicagoans not at increased risk for the flu and its complications to voluntarily 'step aside' and allow those at increased risk to get vaccinated first," said Dr. Julie Morita, the city health department's medical director.

"But now, with the H1N1 vaccine supply more abundant and more consistent---both in Chicago and elsewhere across the nation---we encourage everyone to consider getting vaccinated."

Since vaccines began arriving in October, 2.7 million doses have been allocated to the state health department, which is responsible for delivering vaccines to all areas of the state outside Chicago, a population of about 10 million persons. The Chicago health department, serving about 3 million residents, thus far has received 790,000 doses.